The Sounds Of Silence

[Apotheosis]

I have always thought this was an excellent and pertinent song. I would be interested in hearing what some people's interpretations of this song are.





Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.
Because a vision softly creeping left its seeds while I was sleeping
and the vision that was planted in my brain still remains within the sound of silence.

In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
‘neath the halo of a street lamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
when my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
that split the night and touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening.
People writing songs that voices never shared, no one dared disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools," said I, "you do not know, silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you, take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the wells of silence.

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made
and the sign flashed out its warning in the words that it was forming.
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence."

[Jazuela]

1965 and 1966 were years of enormous political turmoil. Although the USA was already in North Vietnam, the "official unofficial Vietnam war" began in South Vietnam in early 1965. Malcom X was assassinated. Winston Churchill was buried. Indira Ghandi became Prime Minister of India. Various armaments were traded between Russia and East Germany. All kinds of crazy stuff was going on, and much of the uneducated masses skipped over the info to read the funny page instead of giving any real thought to the world.

The Sound of Silence was a gentle protest to this intentional ignorance. Paul Simon was a musical activist and often included political messages in his music. This was one of them, and if I recall an interview with him during the late 80's right, it was primarily about the Vietnam war, that people needed to get out and protest it. But that there were so many other things going on, it was important not to lose track of what the rest of the planet was experiencing.

And so - the Sound of Silence - restless dreams, walking alone, silence grows like a cancer, all these people going about their daily lives without thinking about the significance of the era they lived in, and those who did think about it, weren't talking about it. Except a few who were dismissed as low-lifes - while in fact they (the prophets who wrote on subway walls and tenement halls) were trying to tell everone to pay attention, that all this "stuff" was important.

[Asha]

Christ.
I love the song and was about post. .

[Apotheosis]

Yeah.. I listen to it now, and it seems so relevant. Definitely going to be one of those ageless sounds,.

[Nieninque]

Originally posted by Jazuela
1965 and 1966 were years of enormous political turmoil. Although the USA was already in North Vietnam, the "official unofficial Vietnam war" began in South Vietnam in early 1965. Malcom X was assassinated. Winston Churchill was buried. Indira Ghandi became Prime Minister of India. Various armaments were traded between Russia and East Germany. All kinds of crazy stuff was going on, and much of the uneducated masses skipped over the info to read the funny page instead of giving any real thought to the world.

The Sound of Silence was a gentle protest to this intentional ignorance. Paul Simon was a musical activist and often included political messages in his music. This was one of them, and if I recall an interview with him during the late 80's right, it was primarily about the Vietnam war, that people needed to get out and protest it. But that there were so many other things going on, it was important not to lose track of what the rest of the planet was experiencing.

And so - the Sound of Silence - restless dreams, walking alone, silence grows like a cancer, all these people going about their daily lives without thinking about the significance of the era they lived in, and those who did think about it, weren't talking about it. Except a few who were dismissed as low-lifes - while in fact they (the prophets who wrote on subway walls and tenement halls) were trying to tell everone to pay attention, that all this "stuff" was important.

I love stuff like this.
Thanks for that Jaz :)

[Czeska]

This is one of the songs I always used to play on the piano.

[Asha]

One of my first songs on guitar, back when I was young enough to think it was sissy.

[Gan]

One of the best songs ever composed.

Word.

[nocturnix]

I <3 Paul Simon alot.

Love graceland...but thats when he was out on his own.

Forgive me for forgetting but, this song was sang by simon and garfunkle right?

Paul Simon = 10,000x better than goofy old Garfunkle

[Nieninque]

Originally posted by nocturnix
Paul Simon = 10,000x better than goofy old Garfunkle

I have a friend who calls them Simon and the talentless one

[Jazuela]

Yeah it was performed by Simon and Garfunkle. Simon (Paul) wrote it.

Another awesome song is America, which was performed by them, and also by YES. The lyrics seem to be benign, just a little ditty, but it's more of an essay on "the simple life" - about enjoying the moment, the pleasures of simplicity and innocence, and dreams of a future without strife.


Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies
And walked off to look for America

Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America

Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said be careful his bowtie is really a camera

Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
We smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field

Cathy, I'm lost, I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
And they've all gone to look for America

A lot of their lyrics were about "down home grassroots living" - reminding people about what this country was all about. Homeward Bound, My Little Town, and even Bridge Over Troubled Water, about comforting a friend in need.

For the morbidly curious...my dad was a concert pianist for the city's community chorus, and Simon and Garfunkle were one of the very few "rock and roll" groups that he actually liked. So I was exposed to their music all during my youth, and even got to listen to the chorus practice Bridge Over Troubled Water as one of their performance pieces.

[Latrinsorm]

Wasn't "My Little Town" more about the stifling, screaming lifelessness of small town living? Or am I missing the point?

[Bobmuhthol]

I have this song performed by Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon live, and Nevermore. Good times on all three.

[Jazuela]

Woops, my bad, you're right Latrinsorm. I don't know why I included that. I was probably still thinking about the political inclusions in his lyrics...and that was definitely a testament to "sleeper town" folks who are so caught up in the lack of "spirit" in their own back yards that they forget to open their eyes to the rest of the world.

[SpunGirl]

I really like this song.

However, since "Old School," whenever I hear it I think of the scene where Will Farrell shoots himself in the neck with the tranquilizer dart and falls into the pool.

-K

[CrystalTears]

Originally posted by SpunGirl
However, since "Old School," whenever I hear it I think of the scene where Will Farrell shoots himself in the neck with the tranquilizer dart and falls into the pool.

-K

OMG yes! http://img116.exs.cx/img116/1231/z7shysterical.gif

[HarmNone]

Actually, The Sound of Silence was first performed by Simon and Garfunkel in 1964, in Greenwich Village...before the Viet Nam war (1965). It took Paul Simon six months to write it, after the death of President Kennedy in 1963.

It's about alienation and lack of communication, really, and was originally recorded on their album Wednesday Morning 3 AM, which flopped miserably. It became popular on its re-release in 1965. The Viet Nam "war" was on and the song seemed to speak eloquently to that issue. However, that was not the original spark that brought Paul Simon to write it.

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by HarmNone]

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by HarmNone]

[Bobmuhthol]

Am I the only person who knows Art well enough to know how to spell his last name? :'(

[HarmNone]

Heh. No, Bob. It was a typo. My apologies. ;)

[Jazuela]

I think I spell it differently every time I type it. Correction noted, but don't be surprised if I misspell it again next time the subject comes up. As for HarmNone's post - ya learn something new every day. I knew it was released on 'an' album in 1965, but didn't realize it wasn't the first release, or that it was written in 1963. I was only 2 then, and didn't hear it played til Dad started playing their tunes on the piano at home when I was around 7.

[HarmNone]

That's not surprising, Jazuela. It bombed pretty bad the first time it was released, apparently. ;)

[Gan]

I like the S & G version of Sounds of Silence where they played live at Greenwich Village. The harmonics really added to the overall tone of the song and the lyrics.

This song just eeks out The Boxer on my top 10 S&G songs. Then its Cecilia, Mrs. Robinson, ...

Time to put that CD in. Good times indeed.

[ElanthianSiren]

The song is just about ignorance IMO. It starts off in darkness, which seems comforting, but by the end of the piece flips into something very life threatening. It's commentary on the dangers of one of the most basics of human nature, which is to run to old patterns and ignore present circumstance.

I had an old cassette of this that broke when I moved from Michigan. I haven't replaced it yet, which is kind of appropriate. I may with an mp3 cd or a dvd or something else similiarly appropriate.

-M

[Jazuela]

Oh I just double-checked, I knew there was stuff going on in VietNam in 1964, I wanted to check my facts. The USA was there aiding South Vietnam most of the year, and sent troops down against North Vietnam in the middle of the year. It just wasn't called a "war" on our part yet, it was still considered "strategic maneuvers" and a "military action." I do remember personally, that Nixon tried to deny that we were at war all the way up to his resignation (I watched it live on TV), and the phrase "military action" was the catch-phrase of the whole ordeal. The "war" (as an actual, official war) was between North and South Vietnam. Our involvement was "merely a military action."

Edited to add: Nixon was credited by some to have ended the VietNam war...and everyone knew it was a war, but war was never officially declared by the USA against VietNam, so "officially" it wasn't a war. Even though it was. Gotta love politics. Kinda like Clinton didn't officially have sex with his intern - even though he did.


[Edited on 12-8-2005 by Jazuela]

[HarmNone]

Hence, my quotation marks around the word "war", Jazuela. The precursers to the United States' future involvement were in place in 1963, but it was not yet known to the public. The song in question was re-released at a perfect time to be connected to the "war", which had become a major focus in this country. Whatever might have started Paul Simon's wheels turning and, eventually, resulted in the song being written, it lent itself well to those times, which is probably why the later release did so well. :)

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by HarmNone]

[Apotheosis]

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made
and the sign flashed out its warning in the words that it was forming.
And the sign said "The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
and tenement halls and whispered in the sound of silence."


Most profound lines to a song ever written in the past 25 years

[HarmNone]

The song really does speak to our souls. It's not surprising, to me, that it took six months to write the lyrics. The music came easily, apparently, but the words took time to come together. Obviously, it was time well spent. :)

[Edited on 12-8-2005 by HarmNone]

[Bobmuhthol]

<<Most profound lines to a song ever written in the past 25 years>>

Comparing a song that's seen more than 4 decades to songs from the 80s on is a bit unfair.

[Apotheosis]

Originally posted by Bobmuhthol
<<Most profound lines to a song ever written in the past 25 years>>

Comparing a song that's seen more than 4 decades to songs from the 80s on is a bit unfair.

err, thanks for pointing that out to me.

I will rephrase:

That's are some of the most profound lines ever written in a song in the past 50 years. (def on the top 10 in the list)